Square, a US-based credit card reader, is reportedly preparing to raise a round at more than $200m and potentially bring in a strategic investor.
News provider Techcrunch said: "Square has raised a new large round of funding somewhere close to $200m [in valuation]. There is still no word on the finer details, but its expected that [venture capital firms] Sequoia, Khosla Venture, Benchmark and Kleiner Perkins will be associated with the round. However, it would be interesting to see if there was a strategic investment from Visa, Mastercard or American Express."
In May last year, Visa linked up with DeviceFidelity to launch its version, In2Pay, of Square’s service.
Editor: Subsequently, Sequoia led a $27.5m round at a $240m reported valuation but with no reported corporate involvement until April when Visa emerged – see later story.